ASIC has banned former Spectrum Wealth Advisers director, Mark Schroeder, from providing financial services for six years.
The regulator notes this ban relates to Schroeder’s role in “…numerous compliance failures by Spectrum Wealth Advisers Pty Ltd.”
ASIC said it found that Schroeder, as the most senior manager at Spectrum and the person primarily responsible for its activities and day-to-day management, was involved in Spectrum’s contraventions of financial services laws.
It also found that Schroeder was likely to contravene a financial services law in future because of his involvement and responsibility for Spectrum’s failures and because of his poor understanding of the obligations of providers of financial services, particularly regarding compliance matters.
The regulator noted its surveillance identified serious concerns about Spectrum’s compliance with its obligations as an Australian financial services licensee, and that it failed to do all things necessary to ensure that financial services were provided efficiently, honestly and fairly.
It found that Spectrum did not take reasonable steps to ensure its representatives complied with the law and that the licensee failed to audit its representatives regularly and ensure that its representatives were adequately trained and competent.
Shortly after being issued with a notice of hearing, Spectrum ceased trading and its parent company, Freedom Insurance Group, applied to ASIC to cancel Spectrum’s AFS licence.
In a background note, ASIC stated that Schroeder applied in October 2019 to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of ASIC’s banning decision, together with a request for a stay of ASIC’s decision and for confidentiality orders. A hearing in relation to his request was due to be held on 10 February 2020. ASIC said it was notified on 4 February 2020 that Schroeder was withdrawing his request for stay and confidentiality orders.
